Excellent points, Ed. The Prius is far more than a
social statement (although it is that as well)
Let me add two more reasons why anyone
contemplating this situation now, can and should "bite-the-bullet" and take
out a larger car-loan, or lease out-of-state (to get the rebate) if necessary
- for the hybrid vis-a-vis the alternative vehicle.
1) Supply and demand (economics from the
manufacturers standpoint). The $3000 "premium" for the hybrid is not
absolute, not even "real" but is instead a temporary function of higher costs of
parts presently due to lower manufacturing volume. When the Prius (drivetrain)
is produced in yearly numbers of a million or more, rather than
1-200,000 then there will be very little difference in cost - at most $100
for the extra copper and control circuits. **Hastening that time frame** for
really high volume - by a year of two - can be anyone's "gift" to us all in
paying that temporary "premium".
OK, that is just an enhanced social statement, but
it is enhanced!
2) As Fred Sparber says, "a farmer will spend a
dollar to save a dime" and this observation does NOT mean that farmers are
spendthrifts. Quite the contrary. They realize that even if they are only saving
$300 in fuel costs this year for the $3000 extra cost, that this is not the
end-of-story. If the car is high quality and they keep the car 10 years,
gas will likely be a minimum of $10 gallon then, and they will have saved $1000
per year in the last few years of ownership. Plus they value their time. If over
the course of 10 years, they have cut the number of fill-up stops in half, from
2 per week down to one that is worth about 150 hours of their time at
forty-per... so... all in all, the cost of comparative ownership over the
useable time frame is far greater than this years' fuel savings. Not to mention
in 2015 gasoline could very possibly hit $20/gallon and up - if the
"Peak-Oil" computer models are correct.
Check out these numbers (short Atlanta commute)
which look more favorable for Prius than some numbers supplied by
others:
